New Product? Use These Tips and Tricks for Your Search Launch

When launching a new product, it is important that you gain visibility by covering all of the possible keywords related to your product. This can be difficult to predict when you have no keyword history within the Google Ads UI, but there are a few third-party programs that provide some tips and tricks for making you sure your product gains visibility during the time of launch.

In this post, I’ll dive into some of your options to make sure you’re getting great keyword coverage and giving your new product the best shot at a big launch.

Do Keyword Research with SpyFu

If your new product is entering a competitive market, ID your top 2-3 competitors and use SpyFu to do keyword research. SpyFu’s Kombat tool shows which keywords each competitor is bidding on – and the overlap between each competitor. If your competitors are bidding on relevant keywords you’ve missed, add them to your planned keyword list.

Make sure to note how many competitors are bidding on these keywords; if they’re big competitors with lots of search volume, consider using their names with non-brand terms and getting in on that volume. For example, if a competitor already sells a similar product to one you are launching, and you want to drive awareness that you do as well, using the competitor name along with the type of product can help drive awareness. Proceed with caution, though; competitor terms can be expensive and tough to crack, so you will want to keep a close eye on performance.

Bid on Keywords ahead of Time to Make Sure You Show

If you want to make sure you are appearing on keywords related to a new product, you can use general ad copy that does not mention the product in ad text and get that approved before launch. If your new ad copy is denied, you can continue running the generic ads that have already been approved. This will provide coverage, but it is important to make sure these don’t burn spend without performing.

Once You’ve Started Bidding, Use “Estimated First Page”

Using keyword estimators can be highly directional (in other words, not precise); average positions can look okay for the full campaign, but the top-performing keywords are usually the most competitive and may be in a lower position. Use the “Estimated First Page Bid” for your keywords to make sure you show up on the first page wherever you want – and to make sure you’re not overspending on terms for which your position is already high.

Reach out to Your Reps to Ensure Keywords Go Live

Before launch, reach out to your Google and Bing reps to have them review your proposed ad copy. If they are disapproved and need review, they can let you know early and recommend how to fix them in time for launch.

Once your product has launched and your ads are live, the real optimization fun begins! I do recommend that you continue to use these tips as you expand, as the keyword landscape …read more